On Foreign Entanglements, Rob and Dan discuss whether Assad can survive in Syria. Could the existence of the International Criminal Court be prolonging the conflict? Rob asks Dan how the Syrian army lost control of the country, and they discuss the government’s use of ballistic missile strikes. Would partitioning the country be a realistic option? Moving to domestic politics, they consider what doomed Susan Rice’s bid to be Secretary of State, evaluate the potential nomination of Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense, and conclude with the possibility of Secretary of State John Kerry.

On Foreign Entanglements, Rob speaks with Nicholas Sarantakes, author of the new book Making Patton. Nick discusses the creation of the film Patton, including the disputes between the producers, the Army, and surviving figures like General Omar Bradley. Rob wonders about how Patton fit in with the political climate of the late ’60s in the United States, noting that the film is difficult to interpret as anti-war. Next, Rob and Nick talk a bit about the international disputes caused by Patton before moving on to representations of international politics in art, specifically in Star Trek. Rob concludes by wondering whether we’ll see Ryan Gosling starring in Petraeus in 20 years.

On Foreign Entanglements, Khaled explains why the Israeli E1 settlement project in the West Bank is so significant. Why hasn’t Palestinian President Abbas agreed to negotiate with Bibi Netanyahu? Matt and Khaled marvel at the ironies of the UN vote on Palestine, which affirmed the ’67 borders. Next, Khaled delivers a harsh critique of the Quartet framework for peace, especially how the peace process has ignored internal Palestinian politics. Finally, Khaled argues that now is not the time to bring the parties back to the negotiating table.

On Foreign Entanglements, Matt and Elizabeth discuss Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense. Who won the latest round of violence, and will Israel end its blockade of Gaza? Elizabeth argues that it is in Netanyahu’s interest to keep Gaza separated from the West Bank in order to divide Palestinians. Turning to Israel’s domestic politics, why is Ehud Barak retiring from politics? Is Likud drifting even further to the right? Will Tzipi Livni’s new party be able to unite the center-left? Finally, Matt asks whether and how the United States can work with a Likud-dominated Israel towards peace.

On Foreign Entanglements, Rob talks to Bryan, who worked for the Romney campaign, about the unexpected role that the Navy played in the election. Rob asks Bryan about the impact of Obama’s “horses and bayonets” comment, and Bryan explains the apparently excessive optimism in the Romney camp on election night. They talk about “navalists” in the Obama administration, before moving on to a more general discussion of the defense budget. They conclude with a short conversation about the Israeli missile defense system, known as “Iron Dome.”

On Foreign Entanglements, Matt and James tackle l’affaire Petraeus. Matt argues that Petraeus gave the DC establishment permission to pretend Iraq wasn’t a huge screw up. Shockingly, Rep. Eric Cantor appears to have behaved responsibly in this matter. After Obama’s re-election, what’s the landscape of conservative foreign policy? James argues that Obama simply continued Bush’s second-term foreign policy, but Matt doesn’t completely buy it. James says that Obama has completely undercut the GOP’s foreign policy message. Plus: Will the right’s next generation of foreign policy thinkers embrace realism?

On Foreign Entanglements, Rob speaks with Dan about the aftermath of the election. Dan discusses the growing demographic problem for the GOP. Rob asks about the GOP shadow foreign policy team, and Dan describes the future of “neoconservatism 3.0“. Dan also tries to explain the continued relevance of Charles Krauthammer, while Rob wonders whether technology has changed elite foreign policy narratives. Would appointing John Kerry as Secretary of State guarantee the return of Scott Brown to the Senate? Will the GOP moderate its policies in response to defeat? Finally, they discuss whether the GOP will try to impeach Obama and whether Hillary Clinton will run for president in 2016.

On a special pre-election Foreign Entanglements, Rob and Matt discuss the right’s war on Nate Silver/statistics, and the left-right “hack gap.” If Romney does pull it out, what will the foreign policy wonk space look like? Why is there such a market for progressive critiques of Obama? They move on to recent disclosures about Benghazi, arguing that conservatives have crossed the line in using the attack to slam Obama. Finally, what does the Israeli-Palestinian conflict look like on Nov. 7?

On Foreign Entanglements, Matt and Daveed talk Benghazi. Daveed argues that reports of Al Qaeda’s death have been greatly exaggerated. What did Al Qaeda learn from Iraq about governing? They move on to the presidential debate—was Candy Crowley right to factcheck Romney? Daveed and Matt describe what they’d like to see in Monday’s foreign policy debate, and highlight a big divide between Romney and Obama on international institutions. Plus: Daveed explains why the first debate was much better than the second.

On Foreign Entanglements, Rob speaks with Daniel about Mitt Romney’s latest foreign policy speech. They discuss the atmospherics of “apology,” and wonder whether Romney would actually increase the defense budget. Would President Romney intervene in Syria? Rob and Daniel set some expectations for the Biden-Ryan debate, and discuss what other foreign policy challenges might emerge in the final month of the campaign. Plus: An analysis of Hugo Chavez’s victory in the recent Venezuelan election.